There was, however, a window of opportunity which allowed him to remain in the Premier League before heading to the States for the 2015 campaign.

Manuel Pellegrini probably expected to honour that agreement, with Lampard added to the City ranks to help meet home-grown quotas and add valuable experience to the squad.

He has seen the veteran midfielder emerge as a key performer, though, and is well within his rights to have pushed for a loan extension through to the end of the 2014/15 campaign – especially with Yaya Toure heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.

The decision to keep him in England has not been well received in the USA, though, with NYC fans feeling duped by the fanfare which accompanied the announcement of Lampard’s imminent arrival.

"Many fans, including our members, decided to support the team, committed to season tickets, and bought merchandise under the impression that Frank Lampard would be playing for New York City Football Club, not Manchester City

“Many of those fans are rightly outraged by this decision, and we support any course of action they take to voice their discontent over this decision.

"Our support for our ownership group has been unwavering until now, but this we cannot support

“We reject out of hand any suggestion that NYCFC is in any way secondary to Manchester City FC, regardless of the source, and are disappointed that City Football Group would give such an appearance.

"The Third Rail will forever act as a voice for the fans of New York City Football Club."

Goals

Goal Assist

Total Scoring Att

Total Tackle

Total Pass

Appearances

Mins Played

Frank Lampard

4

1

12

10

270

14

342

Frustrations Stateside are understandable, but they must have feared that this is how things were going to play out.

Chris Burton

Chris is a freelance journalist with a passion for all major sports. He has spent much of his career to date focusing on the wonderful world of football, across all levels. He has also had the pleasure of interviewing a diverse mix of sportsmen and women – including Gareth Bale, Frank Lampard, Xabi Alonso, Marcel Desailly, Roy Hodgson, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny Wilkinson, Nicola Adams and Ed Clancy.